German police, protesters clash before G20 summit

Riot police use water cannon, pepper spray and batons to disperse demonstrations in Hamburg.

07 Jul 2017 09:28 GMT

A standoff between anti-capitalist protesters and police developed before the march began [Fabian Bimmer/Reuters]

At least 76 police officers and dozens of protesters have been injured in clashes in Hamburg ahead of the G20 summit, officials said.

Police used water cannon, pepper spray and batons to disperse marchers after some attacked them with bottles and other objects on Thursday.

The skirmishes came hours before the two-day gathering of the world's top economic powers gets under way on Friday morning in Germany's second-biggest city.

Its host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said she hoped the leaders would be able to find "compromises and answers" on a wide range of issues - although the prospects of finding common ground on climate change and trade were uncertain.

Thursday's protest, as the G20 leaders arrived in Hamburg, was titled "G20: Welcome to Hell", and a standoff between hardcore anti-capitalist protesters and police developed before the march itself really got going.

Police said they repeatedly asked some demonstrators to remove their masks, to no avail. They then decided to separate the group from the rest of the march, which they estimated at 12,000 people in total.

Black-hooded protesters attacked a police vehicle with bottles and bricks, breaking its window.

German riot police use water cannons against protesters during the demonstrations during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters]

Al Jazeera's David Chater said that these protesters want to be heard and make an impact.

"There are so many issues involved politically in the G20 summit. Every anarchist who is going to take part in this march has got some point they want to raise," he said.

"They are against the globalist capitalist system, they are against Trump's attempts to pull out of the climate change accords. They're essentially protesting every single issue that's going to be raised in this G20 summit."

Organisers quickly called an end to the march after the violence broke out, police said. Skirmishes continued, with police advancing down the street with two water cannons while being pelted with bottles by a group of black-clad people.

A nearby building was plastered with the slogan "Borderless solidarity instead of nationalism: attack the G20". A small group on the roof set off fireworks. Police said windows at a furniture store and a bank were damaged. There was no immediate word on a number of arrests or injuries.

Protests to continue

Many other groups are calling for peaceful protests and are pushing the G20 leaders for action to fight climate change and address economic disparities in the world. Some are even calling for the dissolution of the G20 itself so the United Nations becomes the platform for such discussions.

In all, more than 100,000 protesters are expected in Hamburg for the summit, with some 8,000 considered part of Europe's violent left-wing scene, according to police.

The northern port city has boosted its police with reinforcements from around the country and has 20,000 officers on hand to patrol Hamburg's streets, skies and waterways.

Merkel is also hoping to keep things under control inside the city congress centre where the summit is being held. With guests including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the search for compromises is expected to be challenging.

Merkel said leaders would address regulating financial markets, fighting terrorism and pandemics and combating climate change, among other issues. She said "free, rule-based and fair trade" will be an important issue.

"You can imagine that there will be discussions that will not be easy," she said. "Globalisation can be a win-win situation. It must not always be that there are winners and losers."

More than 100,000 protesters are expected to march in Hamburg on Saturday as world leaders meet for the G20 summit [Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters]

In the wake of Trump's recent decision to pull out of the Paris deal fighting climate change, the battle against global warming promises to feature prominently in discussions at the summit.

Merkel has rejected calls from some to push for a strong "G19" statement - without the US - on climate change. That is something that Zhu Guangyao, a Chinese deputy finance minister, told reporters on Thursday that Beijing also did not support.

"The policies produced by the G20 should be by the consensus of all member states," he said. "No one should be excluded."

Still, he added, "China will firmly promote its policies taking more measures against climate change."